Structures for light emitting devices with integrated multilayer mirrors
A substrate for supporting epitaxial growth of light emitting semiconductor devices having a non-crystalline multilayer reflection controlling stack under a thin layer of single crystal silicon is shown. A III-Nitride or other semiconductor stimulated emission device is grown on the thin layer of silicon.
This application claims priority to copending U.S. application Ser. No. 10/714,649 filed Nov. 18, 2003 by Shangjr Gwo, and claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 119(e) to the following U.S. Provisional Applications: Application No. 60/519,064 filed Nov. 10, 2003 and Application No. 60/530,331 filed Dec. 17, 2003, all of the above applications being incorporated herein by reference in their entirety including incorporated material.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTIONIt is an object of the invention to produce light emitting group III-nitride (III-N) or other light emitting semiconductor devices constructed on a multilayer dielectric reflecting stack on a substrate, where the substrate has a thin layer of single crystal silicon interposed between the non-crystalline reflecting stack and the devices.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONA multilayer reflector (distributed Bragg reflector or DBR) is constructed on a substrate. A single crystal silicon wafer is bonded to the DBR, and most of the silicon wafer is removed to leave a thin layer of single crystal silicon attached to the DBR. A III-N or other III-V light emitting device is constructed in epitaxial relation to the single crystal silicon layer. A second DBR is optionally constructed on top of the light emitting device, and electrical contacts are made to the n and p type layers of the light emitting device through the top DBR or through the top DBR and through the bottom DBR to the substrate.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Material for III-V or III-N light emitting device is now grown in epitaxial relation to the single crystal semiconductor material 20. For the most preferred embodiment of a III-N device, shown in
Layer 34 is preferably comprised of multiple layers, preferably including at least one quantum well, and will be described later.
The present specification defines III-N devices as devices comprising compound semiconductors formed from Ga, In, and Al, in combination with nitrogen, and allows small amounts of As or P to be substituted in place of the majority nitrogen material.
In the prior art, no reports show how to grow high-In-content In1-xGaxN epitaxial layers on a silicon substrate with strong near-infrared luminescence at room temperature. Here, we describe how to grow a high-quality InN epitaxial layer on a Si(111) substrate, which is a transparent substrate for near-infrared light (the bandgap of silicon is ˜1.1 eV).
In the experiment, Si (111) substrates were chemical etched before loading into a molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) chamber, and thermally degassed in situ at high temperature to remove the remaining thin oxide layer. Silicon substrates prepared by this process showed a clear (7×7) surface reconstruction at high temperature, confirmed by the reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) pattern. In the growth procedure, a nitrogen (N2) plasma source was used as the active nitrogen source. At first, the active nitrogen plasma was introduced to the Si (111) surface at high temperature (slightly above the (7×7) to (1×1) phase transition temperature of the Si(111) surface, ˜875° C.) for 1 min to form a single-crystal Si3N4 layer. During this process, RHEED pattern changed to the (8×8) reconstruction (with respect to the Si lattice constant). Next, an epitaxial AlN buffer layer was grown at high temperature (900° C.). Then, the substrate was cooled down to low temperature. During the cooling down process, the AlN (3×3)-reconstructed surface appeared at temperature below ˜600° C. Next, a low-temperature (LT) InN epitaxial layer was grown at a low temperature (<500° C.) while maintaining the streaky RHEED pattern. After the thin nucleation layer growth of LT-InN, the RHEED pattern became partially spotty. Then, the substrate was annealed to ˜500° C. and the RHEED pattern became streaky again. Finally, a high-temperature (HT) InN epitaxial layer was grown at ˜520° C. The RHEED pattern was always streaky during HT-InN growth. The film thickness determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was 350 nm for the InN epilayer and 35 nm for the AlN buffer layer.
Growth of a (0001)-oriented single crystalline wurtzite-InN layer was confirmed by reflection high-energy electron diffraction, X-ray diffraction, and Raman scattering. At room temperature, these films exhibited strong near-infrared (0.6-0.9 eV) photoluminescence (PL). Note that 0.8 eV photoluminesnce roughly corresponds to the light wavelength of 1.55 micron.
In addition to the optical absorption measurement of absorption edge and direct band nature, the PL signal was found to depend linearly on the excitation laser intensity over a wide intensity range. These results indicate that the observed PL is due to the emission of direct band-to-band recombination rather than the band-to-defect (or impurity) deep emission. For the purpose of fabricating high-reflectivity and wide stop-band DBRs, quarter-wavelength stacks of alternating amorphous Si (α-Si) and amorphous SiO2 are very suitable since the refractive index difference is very large (3.54 versus 1.44). Thus, only a few pairs of α-Si/SiO2 can form a DBR of high reflectivity.
Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.
Claims
1. An apparatus, comprising;
- a III-N light emission device, comprising;
- a thick substrate, then;
- a first multilayer high reflectivity stack attached to the substrate, at least one layer of the first multilayer stack comprising a non-single-crystalline layer;
- a thin layer of single crystal silicon attached to the first multilayer high reflectivity stack,
- a thin layer of single crystal AlN attached in epitaxial relationship to the thin layer of single crystal silicon;
- a thin single crystal diffusion barrier attached in epitaxial relationship between the thin layer of single crystal silicon and the thin layer of AlN, where the diffusion barrier is Si3N4;
- a thin III-N light emission device attached in epitaxial relationship to the single crystal layer of AlN; and
- a second multilayer high reflectivity stack attached above the thin III-N light emission device.
2. An apparatus, comprising in order from the bottom to the top of the apparatus:
- a thick substrate;
- a first multilayer controlled reflectivity stack attached to the substrate, at least one layer of the first multilayer stack comprising a non-single-crystalline layer; and
- a thin layer of single crystal silicon attached to the first multilayer stack.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, farther comprising a layer of single crystalline direct bandgap semiconductor material attached in epitaxial relationship with the thin layer of single crystal silicon.
4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the direct bandgap semiconductor material comprises III-Nitride material.
5. The apparatus of claim 4, further comprising a thin layer of single crystal AlN material interposed between the thin layer of single crystal silicon and the layer of III-Nitride material, wherein the thin layer of single crystal AlN material is in epitaxial relationship to the thin layer of single crystal silicon and the layer of III-Nitride material.
6. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising a single crystal diffusion barrier interposed between the thin layer of single crystal silicon and the layer of AlN material.
7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the single crystal diffusion barrier comprises Si3N4.
8. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the direct bandgap semiconductor material comprises III-V material.
9. An apparatus, comprising in order from the bottom to the top of the apparatus;
- a thick substrate, then;
- a first multilayer controlled reflectivity stack attached to the substrate, at least one layer of the first multilayer stack comprising a non-single-crystalline layer;
- a thin layer of single crystal silicon attached to the first multilayer controlled reflectivity stack, and;
- a light emission device attached in epitaxial relationship to the single crystal layer of silicon.
10. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising a second multilayer controlled reflectivity stack attached above the light emission device, wherein the light emission device is a stimulated light emission device.
11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein two electrical contacts are made to the light emission device from the top of the apparatus.
12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein at least one electrical contact is made from the substrate trough the first multilayer controlled reflectivity stack to provide electrical contact to the light emission device.
13. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the bottom side of the substrate has a lens shape opposite the light emission device.
14. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the light emission device is a III-V light emission device.
15. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the light emission device is a III-Nitride light emission device.
16. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising a layer of single crystal AlN material interposed between the thin layer of single crystal silicon and the III-Nitride light emission device.
17. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising a single crystal diffusion barrier interposed between the thin layer of single crystal silicon and the layer of AlN material.
18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the single crystal diffusion barrier comprises Si3N4.
Type: Application
Filed: May 11, 2004
Publication Date: May 12, 2005
Patent Grant number: 7151284
Inventor: Shangjr Gwo (Hsinchu City 300)
Application Number: 10/843,518